Why Peter Helliar doesn’t really want to win a Gold Logie

HE’S the funny guy from The Project who missed out on winning a Gold Logie last year. He could be a contender this year too - but part of him doesn’t really want to win.

THERE’S a small part of Peter Helliar that would prefer not to win a Gold Logie this year.

The comedian was nominated for the prestigious award last year but lost out to Samuel Johnson. His Project co-hosts Carrie Bickmore and Waleed Aly each won a Gold Logie in the two years prior.

Voting is now open for this year’s Logie Awards but in a Q+A with news.com.au to promote his new stand-up show, Big Boy Pants, Helliar said that if he were to actually be nominated and go on to win this year it would ruin a “comedic narrative”.

Be honest, Pete, how much would a Gold Logie win mean to you?

I’m just tearing up at the thought of it [laughs]. It’s just an honour to be on the long list of people who could be nominated.

I think it’s got Wilkinson written all over it to be honest. I hope Lisa wins it. I think she deserves it and I was genuinely surprised she wasn’t nominated last year.

Also, [if he doesn’t win] it serves a comedian narrative that we have picked up on. Obviously I was in a position where my two colleagues had won the two last Gold Logies. As a comedian it was just too much of a gold mine not to have some fun with that and to continue to have some fun. If I were to win one it would take some of that fun away.

The Project stars: Waleed Aly, Carrie Bickmore, Lisa Wilkinson and Pete Helliar.

Did you have an acceptance speech written in case you did win the Gold Logie last year?

I had some points but it wasn’t written down. It dawned on me the day leading into it that if I did win it, it needed to be funny. I couldn’t just get up and be too sincere about the whole thing. I had a few zingers that I was looking forward to getting out if the time came but they’re in ashes now.

You mentioned Lisa Wilkinson just before. How did you find out that she was joining The Project team?

I got a call from Beverley McGarvey [Network Ten’s chief content officer] saying that Lisa was joining The Project when I was at home and I was thrilled. My wife was in the bath and I ran in and said, ‘Lisa is joining The Project!’

Lisa and I exchanged text messages not long after but before she started we were both in Hawaii and we caught up. It was really lovely to spend some time with her and bring

her up to speed with how the day-to-day of The Project works.

Peter Helliar with Lisa Wilkinson in Hawaii.

You’ve had some amazing guests on The Project in the last few years. Who would be your favourite?

Last year my dad gave me a gift where he had taken photos off the TV screen of me on camera with different people. He wanted to make sure I was documenting the people I met. He got a few names wrong though. I think he had Matt Damon down as Alec Baldwin.

The one guest that was probably the best and is the screen saver on my phone, is when I went to Tokyo late last year to interview Mark Hamill. That was a standout.

Is there a guest you’ve had on The Project that stands out as the worst?

We’re pretty lucky. Our biggest weapon is our live audience. When they get to us and see our audience they come to life and they know they can’t cheat and they have to bring it. Often if you’re a performer, you rise to that.

Amy Schumer was brilliant on our show, absolutely came to life, she smashed it and then we started hearing that other news outlets had trouble with her.

Peter Helliar with Mark Hamill from Star Wars.

Do you have a pre-show ritual that you do every night before The Project?

I usually always say to the other hosts as late as I can just before the cameras go on, ‘it’s just TV, but good luck everyone’.

Also, our studio audience loads really late, just five minutes before we go on air. I get two minutes with them and I give them a pep up speech. I’m not sure if that’s superstitious or strategic.

What do you say to them?

I tell them that I already feel as if they’re the greatest audience we’ve ever had which is always awkward when there are people who have been in the audience before.

I also have a favourite joke that I do after the show on a Monday night when Steve Price runs out to do his radio show. I always tell the audience that he has to leave because he has a lap dance booked down the road at 8pm. I always time it so Pricey is just out of the studio so he can hear it but he’s running too late to do anything about it.

You’ve been touring your new stand-up show, Big Boy Pants, at the Adelaide Fringe and you’re taking it to the Melbourne International comedy Festival. What’s it about?

It’s about taking responsibility. When I was trying to think about what to talk about in the show and what to call it, I had just had a vasectomy which is about taking responsibility.

And also more and more people wanted to know my opinions on real issues because of my involvement with The Project, kind of forgetting that I’m just a comedian that sits at the kids end of the table. So they’re the two main springboards for the show.

Nice pants! Peter Helliar’s promo shot for his Big Boy Pants comedy show.

Do you make any jokes about your Project co-hosts in the stand-up show?

Walked, Carrie and Lisa are all referenced. I’ve always resisted the temptation of being a comedian on TV who just talks about being a comedian on TV. I do try to keep that separate. But this year there is a purpose when I talk about how The Project has affected my real life.

The Lisa reference is when I talk about pay parity ... and the Waleed and Carrie reference is when I talk about being live on air and they ask me a question that I’m not ready for and the reaction that they might get from me.

You’ve also just released your new children’s book, Frankie Fish and the Great Wall of Chaos, after the first one was a big success.

We couldn’t have imagined how big they would be and to see kids dressing up as the characters for Book Week and sending their reviews in and it becoming part of school curriculum in some instances. It’s pretty staggering.

Middle Park Primary School students giving the thumbs up for Helliar’s new book. Picture: Alex Coppel.

You can check out Peter Helliar’s tour dates for Big Boy Pants here. And you can catch him on The Project weeknights at 6.30pm on Ten.